Bedtime Stories
by Nightglider124
Summary: A certain little Princess is having none of this "Bedtime" nonsense without a good ol' story from her father. ONESHOT. R&R Please!


**Disclaimer:** I do not own Teen Titans. Never have, never will.

 **Author's Note:** Another Oneshot I wrote a little ol' while ago. _Not really that long ago._ I am almost certain that I've never actually written anything with Mar'i being an active character. Strange. Anyways, originally written in **2015**.

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Her bright green eyes narrowed at him as she folded her arms over her chest. Dick chuckled as she huffed, puffing her cheeks out in the process.

"What's wrong?" He asked, still smiling as he pushed some of her thick black hair behind her ear.

"I no want sleep, daddy." She told him, flipping her long hair over her shoulder. He fondly smiled; her mother had a habit of doing that when she was trying to make a point about something too.

"Well, you _have_ to go to sleep Mar'i. Your mom is _already_ gonna kill me for letting you stay up later than usual." He paused and sighed, "C'mon, please?"

Mar'i blinked at her father, testing how far she could push it but she gave in and sighed, "Fine... But will mommy gimme' kiss when she gets home?"

Dick smiled and nodded, "Of course she will. As soon as she gets home from patrol, she'll fly straight in here." He paused and smirked, "Not that you'll know because you'll be asleep, right?"

Mar'i covered her mouth with her hands as she giggled. Dick was so happy that she had inherited Starfire's laugh; it was so sweet and adorable.

"Course' daddy." She agreed as her tiny giggles subsided, taking joy in her father's apparent fear of her mother.

The dark haired girl kept to her word and shuffled beneath the duvet so that she was snug. Dick tucked her in and carefully leaned forward to kiss her forehead.

He pulled back and was about to bid her goodnight and switch her green, star shaped nightlight on for her but she reached out a tiny hand and grabbed his arm suddenly.

Dick turned back to her and raised an eyebrow in concern. Her eyes were wide but they shone with hope of what she was about to request.

"What's wrong?" He asked, gently running his fingers through his daughter's mass of black hair. _So like her mother._

"I want a story, daddy." She informed him, clasping her hands desperately, "Pleeease!"

He couldn't help but chuckle at her pleas. It was a well known fact that Starfire was more talented at telling Mar'i bedtime stories than he could ever hope to. He tilted his head in consideration.

"Which story do you want me to tell you, honey?" He sighed, deciding that he could never deny either of his girls anything when they fixed the "puppy dog" look onto their faces. He didn't believe the traits of his beloved wife would ever cease in their young daughter.

Mar'i's sparkling green eyes widened and she beamed at her father, clapping her hands in triumph. He grinned and leaned back slightly.

"A Titan story." She said, the smile never leaving her small face. He raised an eyebrow at his little girl and gave into a chuckle.

"That's not surprising." He paused, "Most little girls like hearing about stories with Princesses' in them, you know."

Mar'i shrugged but then gave into a tiny smirk, "If the story about mama, then it is a princess story."

Dick blinked at Mar'i and gave into a light-hearted chuckle, "You have me there." He paused and motioned for her to get comfortable again. She eagerly snuggled beneath the covers once more and blinked her big emerald eyes at him, waiting for him to continue.

He pulled his legs up onto her small bed and crossed them as he sat at the end of it. For a moment, he wondered if the child sized bed would actually hold his weight. Dick shook the thought and smiled as his eyes fell on Mar'i's stuffed animal display which adorned the very end of her bed. He grabbed a small pink fluffy teddy and handed it to her.

Mar'i made a small noise of appreciation and nuzzled the soft toy against her cheek, revelling in the texture of the teddy bear. She quietly yawned but blinked a few times in order to focus her tired eyes on her father.

"So, what Titan story is it going to be tonight then, Mar'i?" He asked, smiling down at her. He may not have been the greatest storyteller but he took a lot of delight in recounting specific moments in their family past. The original five of them had always been a family and would always continue to be a family. And what was better was that their family was only going to continue to grow; Mar'i was a perfect example of that.

His daughter pouted her lips slightly in deep thought but he subtly shook his head and grinned inwardly. She always feigned consideration but more often than not, she usually wanted to hear about him and Starfire when they were younger; when he still used the Robin persona. She still enjoyed hearing stories that were more recent of course, but he believed she took joy in learning about what her parents were like in the past; before she had been born.

Her eyes twinkled and her smile was soft, "When you and mommy first met?" She paused, "That one is my favourite."

He matched her soft expression, "That's _my_ favourite one too."

Whilst the memory was from almost 10 years ago, he still remembered the first day he had met Starfire, clear as day. It was not something that he would ever forget either, even when he got old and senile.

There were a range of "Titan stories" that Mar'i requested but his first meeting with Starfire was always chosen the most. However, she sometimes asked to hear other ones like when he and Starfire had gotten married, which she took particular fascination in hearing about how everything was decorated. Another was the sacred memory of Tokyo and their first kiss; of course, being a child she usually made a puking noise but she giggled and listened intently, nonetheless. Mar'i also liked hearing about when Starfire had been pregnant with her which he loved telling her about purely for his own benefit; he adored remembering the ecstatic emotions that they had experienced when they had learned that Starfire was carrying a child.

He smiled and shook his head, clearing his throat in the process to prepare for storytelling.

"Alright... It starts off with boy; a really short boy with spiky black hair, wearing a black domino mask. Went by the name of-"

"Robin!" Mar'i squealed, giggling from beneath her pink covers, "You, daddy!"

He chuckled; he found it ironic how these were bedtime stories, when she should be getting drowsy but instead she got even more excitable.

"That's right, Mar'i. Daddy was Robin." He confirmed and began using his hands to emphasise the story that he was retelling, "Robin had just moved away from Gotham. He wanted to leave Grandpa Bruce for a while to try and be his own hero."

He watched her as she nodded calmly; there were never any questions on that. Every time he told her the story, he always omitted the details surrounding his departure from Batman and Mar'i never pressed. He always felt that his daughter understood things like that, even at her young age. She accepted some of the things he said without hesitation and that made his heart swell; that she placed enough faith in him without needing an explanation.

"Well, on one of his first nights in his new city, a bad man had robbed a bank and was running from the police!" He injected a certain tone into his voice in order to raise the storytelling factor. He smiled to himself as Mar'i gasped. No matter how many times he told her the story, she always did it. She understood his crimes and also knew that he shouldn't have run.

"So, Robin waited until the man stopped running. He hid in this dark, narrow alleyway and the man thought he had gotten away with his crime." He paused and smiled, "Then, Robin came out of the shadows and started to fight with the criminal, knowing that he had done wrong. After knocking the criminal down there was a sudden green flash across the sky that grabbed his undivided attention. The flash was so quick across the sky and Robin knew he had to investigate it."

Mar'i excitedly bit her lip, scrunching the covers beneath her little fists some more.

"After tying the criminal up and leaving him for the police, Robin ran to the highstreet where he saw the strangest thing in the world!" He paused as Mar'i giggled, knowing exactly who her father was talking about.

"Standing there, smashing the ground with her fists and shaking the town was this... beautiful girl with flowing red hair and glowing green eyes..."

"Mommy!" She squealed, happily recognising the description,

He smiled and gave her a small nod, "Robin was momentarily shocked by her... He had never faced such a stunning criminal before."

Mar'i giggled behind her small hands but refocused her eyes on her father as he continued,

"But then, they started fighting! The girl was yelling in a whole other language, making it impossible for Robin to understand her. But then, when the girl was about to strike again, these three other teenagers got involved. One of the boys had light green skin and dark green hair whilst the other boy was a lot taller and bigger and had a mix of blue and white circuitry on his face. Then, there was a short girl who wrapped herself up in a dark blue cloak."

"Uncle Garfield, Uncle Vic and Auntie Rachel!"

Dick gently touched her small button nose with his index finger, "Exactly right, Mar'i." He paused and shrugged, "That's when Robin noticed the girl had metal bounds around her wrists, which explained why she was acting so crazy."

Mar'i fondly smiled at her father's playful tone. Dick once again felt a wave of relief wash over him, over the fact that his daughter didn't question why her mother's wrists were bound, nor did she question where she had come from or why she was battering the city. Some omitted details were ones that Mar'i didn't _need_ to know. Certain details were better off unsaid.

"So... Robin took a chance and decided to help the girl. He released her from the binds and she completely caught him off guard." He made a face and continued, "She grabbed Robin and kissed him!"

Mar'i laughed but stuck her tongue out, "Bleugh!" She commented, shaking her head.

He chuckled, "But from that day on-"

Mar'i yawned and tiredly smiled up at him, "You became a team... And a family..."

He noted that her covers had become loose slightly and tucked them back in, dropping a small kiss on her nose. He brushed her black bangs away from her face and nodded, "Exactly." He whispered,

She paused and looked up, the tiny smile still gracing her features, "Daddy?" She queried,

"Yeah, sweetie?" He returned, keeping his tone quiet in the hopes that she'd fall asleep soon.

"Did you know you loved mommy straight away?"

Dick glanced down at Mar'i; she had never asked that when he had told her the story before. He knew his answer of course and a soft smile formed on his lips.

"I loved mommy from the day we met, Mar'i, yes." He replied, keeping his eyes on hers.

"Is that why you helped her?"

"Mommy was frightened and lost when she arrived here... She needed someone to show her kindness."

Mar'i nodded absently,

"But... I did start to fall in love with her that day... I wanted to protect her immediately and I honestly couldn't explain why." He half laughed. It was the absolute truth. For some reason, he had an impulse to protect Starfire since the day he had met her. It had taken him a while, however, to understand why that was of course.

His daughter's smile widened. She enjoyed hearing about her parents' affection for one another. It was a somewhat, comfort to her.

He grinned down at her and rolled his eyes, "Not that I told her until 4 years later."

Mar'i quietly giggled, "Silly Daddy..." She yawned, allowing her eyes to flutter shut. Dick simply sat and watched his daughter whilst she fell into slumber, carefully leaning forward to switch her nightlight on, knowing how unsettled she became when she sometimes awoke during the night and the room was shrouded in darkness.

Dick lightly pushed himself up from her small bed and stretched his arms above his head. He leaned down briefly and kissed Mar'i's soft mess of ebony hair.

"Goodnight, Mar'i." He whispered, standing up straight again.

He took one single step towards the door and looked up, stopping instantly when he saw his beautiful wife standing there with a sweet smile painted across her face. Her hands were clasped in front of her chest and she leaned against the door frame.

His tired eyes drank up the sight of her, his vision momentarily blurring as he simply gazed at her.

"You're home," He whispered, smiling as he waited for her to conduct her usual routine when she got home after Mar'i had fallen asleep.

Starfire nodded and slowly drifted into their daughter's pink and purple bedroom.

"Apologies... I was out later than I anticipated. There was a store break in right before Garfield and I were due to return home." She clicked her tongue as she reached him, "It was most inconvenient."

Dick smirked, "Damn criminals, don't they have _any_ manners?"

She rolled her eyes playfully and Dick wasted no time in wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close to him.

"We missed you tonight," He told her, stooping ever so slightly to lean his forehead against hers.

"I missed you both too." She sighed, running her fingertips along his jaw line whilst her other hand found his jet black locks.

Dick leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers. It was a gentle kiss that made both of their hearts beat faster. It was that type of kiss that was used frequently when one of them simply wanted to feel closer to the other.

She reluctantly broke their affectionate display and stepped out of his protective hold. Starfire kneeled down and brushed her slender fingertips against Mar'i's peaceful face, tracing the outline of her eyebrows before she carefully ran her fingers through her child's thick black hair, sighing contently. Starfire always missed Mar'i a lot when she was on patrol. There was nothing better than when the three of them were curled up on the sofa, watching a light hearted movie, usually a Disney classic; despite Dick's words of protests. The "Tamaranian dynamic duo", as Dick had named them, always overruled him.

Mar'i shifted slightly and sleepily mumbled something completely incoherent. Her tired eyes cracked open ever so slightly and a tiny smile appeared on her face. Mar'i slowly reached out a hand to touch her mother's soft cheek,

"Mama..." She whispered,

"Shh, my little bumgorf..." She whispered, soothing her with the light strokes of her hair,

Mar'i subtly nodded and her hand slipped from Starfire's cheek and fell back to her small chest that calmly rose and fell alongside her deep breathing.

Starfire smiled at her adorable baby and leaned forward, placing a sweet, motherly kiss on Mar'i's forehead.

"You kiss her every single night, huh?" Dick claimed, as Starfire pulled the covers around Mar'i a little more and stood up straight.

"Of course. I will never miss a single night." She whispered back, smiling brightly.

He raised a hand and pushed some of her auburn hair behind her ear. Starfire leaned into his touch and quietly purred, enjoying the sensation of his skin against hers.

"I enjoyed listening to the story time, Richard..." She stated, opening her eyes slightly to watch him, a smile on her lips,

He halted and smiled back at her, "I didn't realise you were listening."

"I arrived home and I came to say goodnight to Mar'i... Knowing that she never goes to bed at the correct time when _you_ are watching her..." She pointed out, raising her eyebrows at him,

He raised his hands defensively, "Hey, she's like a wizard with that. I don't know how she does it!"

"Perhaps you are the pushover, Richard..." She giggled, quietly,

"I can't help it. You two share the same "puppy dog" face... I fall for it every single time!" He muttered, playfully.

"But..." Starfire paused, returning to her explanation, "I heard that you were telling Mar'i the story of when we met... I did not wish to intrude."

"You'd hardly be intruding, Star... You're the other protagonist of that story, remember?"

She nodded and smirked, "But then I would not receive the compliments so freely, would I?" She paused and tapped her chin, "Such as calling me beautiful."

He chuckled and took her hand in his.

"Well, you _are_ beautiful..." He shrugged, as if it was the most obvious truth in the entire world. She smiled softly and touched his chest, signalling her thanks for the comment.

"She always requests to hear _that_ story..." Starfire stated, quietly, with a soft expression on her face,

He grinned and squeezed her hand as they headed for the door,

"It's her favourite." Dick informed her as they stood just outside of Mar'i's room with him, leaning to the side slightly to quietly close the door behind them.

Starfire wrapped her arms lovingly around Dick's shoulders and rubbed her nose against his, "I do believe I heard you admit it was also your favourite, Richard..." She smirked,

"It always will be my favourite, Star." He whispered, wrapping his arms around her waist. She gave into a tiny giggle as they inched closer to one another,

"God, I love that sound." He told her, finally closing the distance between them.

Starfire dragged her fingers through his mess of black hair and tilted her head slightly in order to mould her lips against his as much as possible. Dick gently squeezed her hips and allowed his hands to run south, the touch lingering over her backside. She slowly broke the kiss as she emitted a soft giggle at the contact. He grinned back at her and dropped a small, affectionate kiss against her forehead.

Dick left his arm around Starfire's waist as they pulled back from one another. She quietly yawned behind her hand and Dick chuckled, "Looks like we're all exhausted."

Starfire lazily smiled up at him as they wandered down the hallway, towards their bedroom, "Perhaps you could tell _me_ the bed time story." She crooned,

He smirked and kissed her temple, "Just name the one you want to hear, Princess."

Starfire giggled as they entered their room.

And as soon as Mar'i heard her parents' voices fading away as they went to their own room, a small smile graced her lips and she snuggled beneath the sheets with her stuffed bear beneath her arm. _Now_ , she was ready to sleep...


End file.
